Post by davep on Jun 20, 2021 11:52:41 GMT
I was wondering who are Sutton’s main local rivals? I’m sure that Southampton and Portsmouth fans regard each other as their main rivals even though Southampton have had more games against Bournemouth in recent years – and I can’t imagine this ever changing (even if Dos takes Portsmouth’s near neighbours, Havant, up through the divisions). However, I’m not sure that the same ‘consistent’ position applies to a club like Sutton given the extent of the journey that it has been on through the football pyramid and the number of clubs in relatively near proximity.
When I first started watching Sutton regularly at the start of the 1970s, I considered Wycombe to be our main rivals (from a competitive point of view rather than based on locality – and due to the fact that they had signed a number of players from Sutton) and Leatherhead to be our main local rivals (I lived in Epsom and had school friends who supported Leatherhead – plus they had signed one of my earliest Sutton heroes, Chris Kelly, from Sutton). I can always remember local rivalry with Carshalton – and I think that still applies in spite of the significant gap between the sides in the Football Pyramid. I don’t think that I’ve ever considered Epsom & Ewell, Banstead Athletic or (more recently) Sutton Common Rovers to be local rivals – even though Epsom had an exceptionally strong team in the mid-1970s and reached the first FA Vase final at Wembley. There has clearly been a long-term rivalry with Kingstonian – although I think that the K’s fans have felt this rivalry more strongly than the Sutton fans (although I felt it strongly in the 1970s when my school PE teacher was on the coaching staff at Kingstonian). On the flip side, while there has been a fairly long-established rivalry with Woking, I think that Cards fans have generally tended to feel keener rivalry with the likes of Aldershot and Farnborough. Historically, there definitely was a local rivalry with Tooting & Mitcham – although their main rivalry appears to have been with Dulwich Hamlet (I’ve personally always had a soft spot for Dulwich and always found it a nice place to go and watch a game when Sutton weren’t playing – and I’m very pleased that their fortunes have picked up).
In recent years there is no doubt that there has been a strong rivalry between Sutton and Bromley – arguably two clubs of equivalent size and regular competitive rivals. When I first started watching Sutton regularly in the 1970s, Sutton and Bromley were in the same division in the Isthmian League – but at different ends of the table – and I can’t remember ever thinking of Bromley as a rival. I don’t think that the rivalry of recent years will end just because we will be starting next season in different leagues (and Bromley weren’t far away from joining us in the EFL). I guess that next season Crawley will be our main local rivals in Division 2 and probably the team we will play on Bank Holidays (presuming that Orient play Colchester). I understand that Orient regard Southend as their local rivals and Crawley regard AFC Wimbledon as their local rivals. Of course, a few points different here and there and we might have been in the same division as AFC Wimbledon next season. I know a number of AFC Wimbledon fans and there is no doubt that they are still hurting from our FA Cup win over them a few years ago.
In summary, I guess that I would view AFC Wimbledon, Bromley and Carshalton as our three main local rivals at this time. I would love to see us renew an old rivalry with Wycombe in Division One in a couple of years’ time.
When I first started watching Sutton regularly at the start of the 1970s, I considered Wycombe to be our main rivals (from a competitive point of view rather than based on locality – and due to the fact that they had signed a number of players from Sutton) and Leatherhead to be our main local rivals (I lived in Epsom and had school friends who supported Leatherhead – plus they had signed one of my earliest Sutton heroes, Chris Kelly, from Sutton). I can always remember local rivalry with Carshalton – and I think that still applies in spite of the significant gap between the sides in the Football Pyramid. I don’t think that I’ve ever considered Epsom & Ewell, Banstead Athletic or (more recently) Sutton Common Rovers to be local rivals – even though Epsom had an exceptionally strong team in the mid-1970s and reached the first FA Vase final at Wembley. There has clearly been a long-term rivalry with Kingstonian – although I think that the K’s fans have felt this rivalry more strongly than the Sutton fans (although I felt it strongly in the 1970s when my school PE teacher was on the coaching staff at Kingstonian). On the flip side, while there has been a fairly long-established rivalry with Woking, I think that Cards fans have generally tended to feel keener rivalry with the likes of Aldershot and Farnborough. Historically, there definitely was a local rivalry with Tooting & Mitcham – although their main rivalry appears to have been with Dulwich Hamlet (I’ve personally always had a soft spot for Dulwich and always found it a nice place to go and watch a game when Sutton weren’t playing – and I’m very pleased that their fortunes have picked up).
In recent years there is no doubt that there has been a strong rivalry between Sutton and Bromley – arguably two clubs of equivalent size and regular competitive rivals. When I first started watching Sutton regularly in the 1970s, Sutton and Bromley were in the same division in the Isthmian League – but at different ends of the table – and I can’t remember ever thinking of Bromley as a rival. I don’t think that the rivalry of recent years will end just because we will be starting next season in different leagues (and Bromley weren’t far away from joining us in the EFL). I guess that next season Crawley will be our main local rivals in Division 2 and probably the team we will play on Bank Holidays (presuming that Orient play Colchester). I understand that Orient regard Southend as their local rivals and Crawley regard AFC Wimbledon as their local rivals. Of course, a few points different here and there and we might have been in the same division as AFC Wimbledon next season. I know a number of AFC Wimbledon fans and there is no doubt that they are still hurting from our FA Cup win over them a few years ago.
In summary, I guess that I would view AFC Wimbledon, Bromley and Carshalton as our three main local rivals at this time. I would love to see us renew an old rivalry with Wycombe in Division One in a couple of years’ time.
